1. Field of the Invention
My invention relates to doweling jigs or boring jigs, and more particularly to doweling jigs of the type adapted to be clamped to the adjoined edges of boards to be joined by doweling.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The term "prior art" as used herein and in documents relating hereto means only that the document referred to as constituting part of the prior art has an effective date earlier than the date of filing hereof, and has no other connotation. The prior art includes clamp-type doweling jigs adapted to be clamped to the adjoined edges of boards which are to be joined by doweling, such as those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,556,131; 3,674,376; and 3,708,237. The prior art also includes multi-stage doweling jigs, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,394; and multi-purpose doweling jigs, such as the doweling jig of U.S. Pat. No. 2,260,784.
As may be seen from the above-cited clamp-type doweling jig patents, however, the clamp-type doweling jigs of the prior art generally constitute a clamp assembly and one or more separate drill guide assemblies which are mounted or mountable on the clamp assembly. These prior art doweling jigs are generally comprised of a number of individual parts, such as clamping or positioning screws, drill guide carrying rails, etc., the provision of each of which adds to the cost of the complete jig, and thus puts such a jig out of the practical economic reach of the home craftsman who has a limited use therefor.
Further, these prior art clamp-type doweling jigs require that the drill guide or guides be positioned as a part of each use of the jig, generally by making measurements of the thickness of the boards to be joined, and then positioning the drill guide or drill guides on the clamping assembly in accordance with those measurements.
Yet further, some of these prior art clamp-type doweling jigs include separate or easily separable parts, such as set screws, wing nuts, or bolts which can easily be lost and are at the least a nuisance to replace, or can be replaced only by the time-consuming process of writing to the manufacturer, etc., if indeed they are available at all at the time of loss.